Disappointing third quarter for UK construction sector
Construction output in the UK fell 2.2 per cent in the three months to the end of October, compared with the quarter before, figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed today.
That figure is exactly what the ONS estimated as part of the UK's pretty disappointing third-quarter GDP figure – but remains very disappointing for a sector which has led UK growth in recent years.
In September, output decreased 0.2 per cent compared with August. During the third quarter, the largest fall was during the three months to August, when output fell 3.4 per cent.
"It was particularly disappointing that there was not a rebound in construction output in September as activity had appeared to be held back in August by particularly bad weather," said Howard Archer, chief European and UK economist at IHS Economics.
"The only slight positive in the data was that August’s drop in construction output was trimmed to 3.4 per cent month-on-month from the previously reported drop of 4.3 per cent.
"There have been concerns about the construction sector's ability to build significantly more houses. In their July report, the purchasing managers cited 'long lead-in times for new projects, scarce supplier capacity, skill shortages and stretched sub-contractor availability'."